For the Magic of Oil, We paint in Oil!!

For the Magic of Oil, We paint in Oil!!

Oil is an expensive, time taking medium ... only serious artist around the globe use it...Most Indian artists today use Acrylic. Most Indian art buyers buy Acrylic paintings. They don't know any better!! Oil paintings have vanished from the contemporary Indian art scene!! Most artists would confess in private, because of "lack of time" they work in Acrylic paints!! They 'finish' their painting.. Just in time for 'shows' by using this quick-drying-cheap-synthetic plastic-medium!! And here we paint for the sake of painting, for the sheer pleasure of painting in Oil, for its beauty and texture, for it shine and translucent quality, for it's colour range and mixing ability, for the smell of linseed and turpentine on our hands, for the sake of art... For the magic of Oil, we paint in Oil!! And not for 'shows' not for 'deadlines'!! They paint over night... In Acrylic and the very next day a 'painting' is ready!!
So taking some of my printed brochure I went around town dropping them in newly opened galleries. In one such gallery as i entered i saw work canvass being arranged along the gallery floor and against the wall.. getting ready to hang.. a new show! As the girl behind the desk was busy i sneaked and pick a few canvases... all had strange feel to it... the colours all finished at the edges of the canvas with a machine like accuracy!! the revere side had no stains or colour smudges!! They were all digital art... but when I was told very confidently by the gallery manager they were "Oil on Canvas'!!

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One thing which is very close to my heart..   and it use to make me sad.... 
It maybe a bit technical for the uninitiated, but i will try to write this as plainly as possibly. Hope everyone would understand

I love 'oil paintings'. But due to availability of cheap and easy to use Acrylic paints many artists slowly have started to work in Acrylic. The reasons were: Acrylics are cheap.. (it is synthetic plastic paint.)

Acrylics dry up very soon, unlike oils... so you an finish a painting and sell it the next second!!!

Oil takes time to dry and it not so easy to use. You have to spend lot time to hone that skill.

All theses reasons drove many to 'Acrylic'... but a painting in acrylics won't have the charm, lustre and beauty of an Oil. Oil paints like Water colours are 'old school' and timeless classic mediums.

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In India, most artist... especially from the young generation (from 1990-2014) have completely stopped working in oils! In fact there are those who have never ever worked in Oils!!!

Recently I had to find artist from India who work in Oils for a International Art show... I found non!!

The lure of quick money and quick delivery of paintings don't seem to suit our artists from India!! 

They are into 'video art', 'digital art', 'conceptual art' and all such absurd art!!

This is the reason why I was unable to find any good artist from my own country!! Some sent me works but I know that those are not Oils!! Even if they claim they are!! They are ink jets on Canvas!! Or just Acrylic... which they wanted to pass it off as Oils!!

Many Indian Art galleries and artists sell digital prints...  under the pretext of 'hand  painted painting'... 
But are actually digital prints on canvas/paper etc

'Ink jet on canvas' is sometimes get passed off as 'original hand-painted works labelled as: 'Oil on Canvas' or 'Acrylic on Canvas'!! Like the once one can buy in stores like Ikea!! With texture and all... printed on canvas!!! 

One can print thousands!!

Many artists would take out a print out and then add few lose brush strokes to make it look "hand painted"!
Like many of us artists are not great draughtsmen... (lacking the ability to draw accurately etc like a Leonardo or Dali etc.)
so they hide their limitation by taking out print out of a drawing, photograph, painting etc. And then paint over it!! 
To camouflage the print.. some artists take out drawing or sparsely coloured printout and then slap oil or acrylics paint over the print and pass it off as 'original, hand-painted works of art'!! 

When you buy Art works...Be careful!! Get an expert to authenticate them..

I am not against 'Digital Art' per se.. But the buyer/art lovers etc. have the right to know, exactly what the medium etc is...

Let me tell you from own experience.. it was 2006 I was holding my solo show in Delhi after a gap of 10 or more long years!!

Things had changed, galleries I used to know had closed down... Unknown small time galleries were now too snooty to pick the phone and talk to me... 
So went about visiting them personally... in once such up-market gallery in New Delhi, I saw a show was in progress...

Upon asking... was told the works were "all Oil on Canvas"!!

It was a lie... I know the sight, smell and texture of oil... and most importantly no artist can keep the sides of the canvas so clean!! It was of course some kind of ink jet on canvas, where the sides remain squeaky clean!!

Oils and Watercolour will always be there... it is Classic and timeless.

Also 'representative' art will live on... everyone enjoys realism in art.

Recently I was asked to help in selecting artist across the globe.. Oil painters for an International Art show.. alas i couldn't find a single decent Indian Artist who had body of works in Oils!!